Last night I went to see Sharon Goldman at Rockwood Music Hall. The new norm as that timing the subway ride is a crap shoot so I can’t cut things as close as I’d like. I arrived at Rockwood at 6:02 instead of 5:55. Sharon was already into her first song. She started right on time. I saw Carolann sitting by the bar and joined her. We were soon joined by Fred not Fred and Allison. For the rest of this entry I’ll simply refer to him as Fred, I just wanted you to know that it’s not the Fred I usually hang out with. This Fred is a musician from New Jersey not a microbiologist from Long Island. You can’t tell the players without a program. Good thing that Allison not Allison didn’t show up, she produced Sharon’s soon to be released album so it was a possibility. That doesn’t sound right. I’d have loved to have seen producer Allison. I’ve known her longer than I’ve known Villa Palagonia Allison. I just meant that things would be more confusing. Looking at what I read that ship has sailed. Who’s on first? I don’t know. Third base. At least there is only one Carolann in my life.
Sharon’s songs are perhaps the most personal of the songwriters I see often. She manages to do that without being a “look how sensitive I am” singer-songwriter. What I mean is that they are about things she’s experienced in her life. Nobody else is going to write a song about how their father is a hardcore collector that collects odd things like stickers on fruit. That’s not really a typical song of hers but it’s my favorite. It’s funny and charming. The quirks of people in your life is an underutilized songwriting resource. She has one new song about visiting Greece with her husband that I have heard before. This time the note of familiarity struck a chord. It could have been one of Christine Lavin’s sentimental romantic songs. As I love Chris that’s high praise indeed.
My plan after the show was to shop for some medical supplies I need, grab some dinner, and come back at 8:30 to see Nels Andrews on Stage 3. He lives in California and hasn’t been in New York in years. He’s one of my favorite musicians and someone I love as a person. I’ve been looking forward to that since it was announced. But after the show Sharon, Carolann, Fred, and Allison said they’d go out for dinner later and invited me to join them. First they were going to see our friend Lara Herscovitch on Stage 3. She was on right before Nels. I couldn’t afford to see all three and I especially couldn’t afford to see all three then go out to dinner. I decided to go with my original plan to shop for medical supplies and make the decision after that as to what follows.
I got back to Rockwood 3 before Lara’s set was over. It’s dark in there. I was wearing my Navy Blue WFUV hoodie, hood up, and bent over my phone. I heard someone say, “Is that Gordon?” it was Nels. He’s good, though the WFUV was a tipoff that it was me. Carolann pointed out that’s my look, a face hunched over the phone with my hood up.
I had decided to join the others for dinner by then and told Nels. He took it great and it was so much fun talking to him that it made me regret missing him perform even more. But I also miss hanging out with friends after a show, especially the chicks. Carolann, Allison, and Sharon are all part of the songwriters’ group Chicks with Dip and I’m part of the male auxiliary, the Roosters. And as I had to eat anyone this was the most frugal decision.
We went to eat at Spiegel. Microbiologist Fred and I had decided that was the place to eat after a Rockwood show. We had discovered it after another Chicks gathering, we are not sure the occasion but we know that Karyn Oliver was there. We were joined by Katherine who was also at Lara’s show. I love hanging out with these people, it was a good decision. We sat around for hours and talked. I have not had enough of this in my life of late.
When we got to the subway after the show I had my Bronx regret. Carolann and Katherine headed downtown on the F and I headed uptown. This used to always happen when I lived in Queens. When I was originally forced to move, it’s why I chose Brooklyn. To be near my friends.
I don’t seem to have anything on my agenda today so I’ll just go for PT and maybe grocery shopping. If not that then I’ll take a walk. I have lots of good things coming up on my agenda. In the next week I have the first Sunset Singing Circle, dinner with Katherine, a concert, the WFUV volunteer Party, and major surgery.
Wise Madness 